The Rt. Hon. Beverley McLachlin, Chief Justice of Canada, announced today that Justice Michel Bastarache has written to the Minister of Justice, the Honourable Robert Nicholson, to advise that he will retire at the end of the spring session of the Court, effective June 30, 2008. “Justice Bastarache has served on the Court with wisdom, and made enormous contributions to the Court and to Canada. He is a valued colleague and a friend, who will be missed by all the members of the Court”, said the Chief Justice.

For his part, Justice Bastarache said, “It is a great honour and privilege to be asked to be a member of the Supreme Court of Canada. There are but a small number of jurists who have had the opportunity to serve their country in this capacity, and to have had the chance to participate so directly in the development of the law. I am extremely grateful for the privilege of serving as a member of the Court.”

Justice Bastarache was appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada on September 30, 1997, just over 2 years after his appointment to the New Brunswick Court of Appeal.

Ernest Drapeau, chief justice of the province, and New Brunswick Court of Appeal judges Joseph Robertson and J.C. Marc Richard are seen as having the legal breadth and intellectual depth to make them worthy appointees.

The Ontario Human Rights Tribunal has ordered National Money Mart Company to pay $30,000 in compensation to a former, one-year employee of the company who had been subjected to ongoing, serious sexual harassment by her workplace supervisor.

With the Ontario Court of Appeal's June 25, 2009 ruling in Slepenkova v. Ivanov, it is now clear that the nearly-universal pronouncements by management lawyers as to the death of Wallace damages after Honda and Keays may have been a bit premature.

In Slepenkova, the Ontario appellate court upheld a two-month notice extension for an employer's bad faith termination, even though no evidence was led at trial as to the specific damages the employee directly incurred as a result of the bad faith. This appeared to place the trial Judge's decision at odds with the new Wallace test set out in Honda.

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Garry J. Wise is primary contributor to Wise Law Blog. He is a Canadian litigation lawyer who practices with Wise Law Office,Toronto. He is a graduate of Osgoode Hall Law School and was called to the Ontario Bar in 1986.

Garry's colleagues at Wise Law Office, as well as occasional guest bloggers, also contribute to Wise Law Blog.

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